Living in the Heart
by luminare91
Summary: Someone once told Harry that the ones we love never truly leave us. He has no idea how true that really is


**Title: **Living in the Heart

**Fandom: **Harry Potter

**Era:** Post-Hogwarts Book/Movie canon

**Rating:** K+

**Warnings:** none

**Pairings:** Harry/Ginny

**Disclaimer:**Nope, still don't own any of this. I'm just indulging in a bit of fantasy.

**Beta:** None Typos likely.

**Summary:** Someone once told Harry that the ones we love never truly leave us. He has no idea how true that really is

_Author's Note: This may well be the shortest thing I have ever written. It is also the only thing that has made me cry as I did it. I've gotten emotional before, but never like this. You might want a tissue._

* * *

Living in the Heart

Harry had barely stepped out of the fireplace and into his living room when a small being collided with his stomach and tiny arms wound around his waist. Catching himself on the mantlepiece, he looked down at the little girl who currently had her face buried in his robes. Before Harry could do anything more than steady himself, Albus and James came hurtling into the room as well.

"Can we keep him, dad, please?"

"We'll take care of him, honest."

"Mum said it was up to you."

"Please, daddy."

"That's enough," said Ginny over the babbling children. "Give your father room to breathe. You can ask him your question in a minute."

There was a chorus of grumbling and whining, but Ginny had inherited the Weasely Matriarch Glare from her mother. The kids cleared the room fairly quickly, leaving behind their very confused father.

"What was that all about?" he asked dazedly.

Smirking, Ginny crossed the room and kissed his cheek. "Your daughter found a puppy."

"Ah, and I suppose you told them to ask me if they could keep it?"

"No, I told them that they would have to wait for you to get home so that you and I could discuss it," she corrected. "What do you think?"

"I think that maybe they could use a pet," Harry said after a moment's thought. He and Ginny wandered over to the sofa and sat down, leaning against each other comfortably. "We really only have the owl, but I'm also not entirely sure I'd trust them with a pet. Too much mischief in the blood, and all."

It was far too true. Though James was most like his namesakes, they were all more than capable of mischief. Harry supposed it was only to be expected when they were related to Fred and George and a Marauder through blood and related to two more Marauders in every way that mattered. Mischief was literally in their blood.

"Hmm, there is that," agreed Ginny. "I think the real question is, which do we prefer? The tantrums that will come if we give the dog away now, or the fact that we will end up being the ones taking care of it?"

Harry chuckled. "I always did want a dog. Just how attached to it are they?"

"Very. I believe they're already arguing over names."

"All right," he sighed, rising to his feet and offering a hand to help his wife up, "I suppose I'd better see this dog before I make a decision. What is your opinion, anyway?"

"I'm not against keeping it, nor am I for getting rid of it," said Ginny, leading Harry toward the backyard. "I do think they could use a pet, we all could, and it might be good for us. At the very least, we may as well try."

Harry nodded, thinking much along the same lines himself. After seeing what had happened to Dudley, regardless of how he'd eventually turned out, Harry was rather cautious of indulging his children's ever whim, but he also made sure that the never did without.

Albus, and Lily were sitting happily in a pile of leaves not far from the backdoor while James chased down a quaffle. The puppy was lying between them, tail wagging happily and panting from the exertion of whatever game they had been playing. It was black and bit shaggy. Even collapsed on the ground, it was easy to see that it had long legs and all the potential to be massive.

"I want to name him Fluffy," said Lily, stubbornly crossing her arms. Harry grimaced. He would never name a dog he owned Fluffy, even it was a French poodle. There were far too many memories attached to that name. Beside him, Ginny stifled a grin. She knew all about her husband's adventures at Hogwarts and was well aware of what he as thinking. She was also not above encouraging her children to name the dog Fluffy. She had been raised alongside Fred and George, after all.

"We can't name him Fluffy," protested Albus, wrinkling his nose. "That's a girl name and he's a boy dog. We should name him Spot."

"That's boring," cried Lily.

Albus' retort was cut off by the return of his brother, who dropped the quaffle on the ground and plopped down right in front of the dog, on his stomach so that they were practically nose to nose. The puppy's ears went up and it gazed at the boy in front of it with intelligent eyes. After a moment, James grinned.

"Hello, Padfoot."

Lily's squeals of approval were lost on Harry as he realized with a jolt he normally associated with being hit in the stomach with a bludger that the little dog did look uncannily like a miniature of his godfather's animagus form. The only difference was the eyes. The puppy's weren't the haunted grey that Sirius' had been, but warm and brown.

The warmth of Ginny's hand on his arm brought Harry back to earth. He'd never been more grateful, or more heartbroken, that he had told his children about the Marauders, about the family he'd only gotten a tantalizing glimpse of. It was clear already that the name had stuck. Grabbing the quaffle, Albus waved in front of the puppy's face, calling his name. The dog – Padfoot – was immediately on his feet, watching it with keen interest.

Ginny tugged on his arm, pulling him down so that she could kiss his cheek before wrapped herself in his arms.

"I guess that settles it," Harry murmured.

She nodded. "Welcome to the family, Padfoot."

* * *

_Author's Note: I was actually trolling Pinterest when I got the idea for this fic. I've seen the little posts where it's a message from Lily telling Molly that she's looking after Fred the way she did Harry and a couple of others, but this was the first time I'd seen this one. It was a letter from Harry to Sirius about how Lily had found a dog and James decided to call him Padfoot. I literally had to write this after that. I would put up a link, but I've been unable to find it again. If someone else does, please PM me and let me know. I'll keep looking myself as well. Read and Review!_


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